Honduras
The Republic of Honduras is located in the heart of the Central American isthmus. Due to its geographical location it is permanently exposed to extreme weather events that are being multiplied by climate change. Recently, Honduras has suffered the effect of a large number of adverse hydrometeorological events such as severe droughts and floods due to heavy rains, as well as direct impact of major hurricanes – Eta and Iota in 2020.m, which affected more than 3.9 million Hondurans.
Moreover, the climate change is a problem that threatens the population in general, impacting their livelihoods. Honduras, due to its geographical location, its biophysical and its itstopographical characteristics, plus to its high levels of poverty, is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The effects of climate change on the population makes difficult to solve one of its greatest challenges – Poverty. An estimated of 48.3% of the population lives below the poverty line and 22.9% in extreme poverty (SICA, 2020). as well as to improve human development and reduce socioeconomic vulnerabilities.
Since 2015, when Honduras’ first NDC was presented and ratified in 2016, substantial progress had been made in the development of institutions, policies and capacities in the area of climate change. Since then, Honduras worked on developing a roadmap establishing a clear path towards its implementation. To this end, under the mandate of the Climate Change Law, the Inter-Institutional Technical Committee on Climate Change (CTICC) was created, within the framework of which the First Update of the NDC Honduras was approved and validated. Furthermore, under the CTICC, the Subcommittee of the NDC of Honduras was established, made up of the different public institutions involved in the execution of climate change policies.
Therefore, under instructions from the NDC Subcommittee of Honduras that the country has developed, from October 2017 to May 2021, the update of its NDC through a participatory and consultative process that has involved different institutional, private and public actors. civil society. organized. Given the importance of social inclusion, Honduras has emphasized the active listening of women, youth and indigenous and Afro-Honduran peoples (PIAH) to gather information on their needs, contributions and the generation of commitments that the country must assume to achieve sustainable development. . . low carbon. resilient and inclusive social development. The updating process was planned with the country’s main institutions with the aim of gathering information from the greatest number of actors and inputs generated by the ongoing initiatives. The updated NDC for Honduras is the result of this collaborative process between institutions and implementing agencies that has allowed a continuous improvement of mitigation, as well as the incorporation of clear adaptation and gender commitments.
Honduras contemplates that action against climate change cannot be developed without ensuring synergies between the different processes (mitigation, adaptation, sustainable development, etc.). This is how it reaffirms its commitment to climate change with a holistic and synergistic approach. Therefore, this update presents integrated information that takes into account all processes and aspects of climate change, identifying linkages (for example, with the SDGs and national NDC targets) in mitigation and adaptation actions, as well as a synergistic component that includes actions with aspects of mitigation, adaptation, social inclusion and sustainable development.
Finally, it is important to note that this update of the NDC of the Republic of Honduras presents comprehensive information and has been designed based on national capacities, financing conditions and national circumstances, the country clarifies that the commitments of the NDC are conditional on favorable and predictable support and the facilitation of climate finance mechanisms.
The Objectives of the Nationally Determined Contribution of Honduras (ONDC-HN) are the strategic guidelines for the adoption of measures aimed at the development of policies and actions for the country’s contribution to global climate action. They are also the basis for a long-term low-carbon development strategy and compliance with the 2030 agenda. These objectives have been defined under the framework of the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities, citizen participation (especially involving young people, women and the most vulnerable groups), human rights, and innovation and technology transfer.
The country’s National Adaptation Plan establishes the following objectives:
- Generate institutional capacities for knowledge management in climate change adaptation.
- Strengthen multisectoral (interinstitutional and intersectoral) and multilevel coordination (at multiple levels of government from local to national) for the formulation and implementation of adequate community and citizen adaptation to climate change.
- Promote adaptation actions and measures that contribute to the fulfillment of the progressiveness and universality of human rights, the effective participation of communities, the Sustainable Development Goals and national policies for low-carbon and resilient development.
- Promote the protection, good management and restoration of ecosystems as a fundamental axis for the adaptation of urban and rural communities, as well as the achievement of environmental and socioeconomic benefits.
- Promote the transfer and appropriation of adaptation technologies, considering synergies with climate change mitigation.
Finally, the Municipal Mayor’s Office of the Central District as a subnational government prioritized in the country for its climate vulnerability, in the framework of its Local Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change establishes as a strategic objective:
Reduce the vulnerability to climate change of the urban and rural population of the Central District Municipality, articulating the management of sustainable development through a planning instrument to increase resilience and adaptive capacity to climate change, with a watershed approach.
1) Master Plan for Integrated Solid Waste Management with a metropolitan approach (Municipality of the Central District).
2) Integrated Urban Watershed Management (nature-based solutions)
3) Pre-feasibility studies for the construction of joint landfills.
4) Inventory of final disposal sites.
5) Waste Management Master Plans.
6) Landfill of commonwealths, (economies of scale).
7) Education and sensitization programs on waste issues.
8) Strengthening and training program for local governments in waste management.
Secretary of Health, Secretary of Energy Natural Resources, Environment and Mines (SERNA) Secretary of Governance, Justice, and Decentralization, Secretary of Tourism, Secretary of Social Development (SEDESOL), Secretary of Agriculture and Livestock (SAG).
GIZ, WWF, JICA, UNDP, UNEP, BM, BID, BCIE, IUCN, FAO, PMA.CAF.
- Local/Subnational Governments (Municipal Mayor’s Office of the Central District and Metropolitan Municipalities with a watershed approach), Association of Municipalities of Honduras (AMOHN), Commonwealths.
- Civil Society: MIMAT Misquita Women, CEHPRODEC, FOSDEH, CESPAD, ASONOC.
- Solid Waste Management Companies: INVEMA, DIAMANTE, RECICAM, RECIPROCO, ARGOS, Cementos del Norte, among others.
- Municipal or Pooled Waste Management Systems.
- Urban Wastewater Sanitation Systems.
- Flood Control Works and provision of drinking water in cities.
- Restoration of Urban Ecosystems (Urban Watersheds and Climate Resilience).